Hoyer: Democrats Will Keep Fighting to Extend Child Tax Increase to All Families

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement this morning after the GOP-controlled House defeated a Democratic Motion to Instruct conferees to accept the Senate version of the child tax credit legislation. The House defeated this motion by a vote of 210 to 186. Democrats are offering an identical motion again today:

“It has now been 84 days since House Republicans tried to kill the effort to accelerate the increase in the child tax credit for 6.5 million working families and their 12 million children by passing a version of the legislation that they knew the Senate would never agree to. And I’m sure they hoped that time and other pressing legislative business would cool Democratic passion on this fundamental test of fairness. But it has not.

“Democrats supported the increase in the child tax credit for the families who received checks this summer, but we will not relent until all hard-working families – including the 200,000 serving in our military – receive the same increase in the child tax credit as their slightly better off neighbors.

“The President agrees with us and so does an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate, which voted 94 to 2 to accelerate the increase for all families. House Republicans are the only ones dragging their feet on this important issue and denying fairness to millions of American families.

“This week, millions of school children across this country began the new school year. And that means their parents will be buying new shoes, new clothes and new school supplies. This increase in the child tax credit would go a long way in helping low-income families make these purchases and meet these needs. These families are working hard and playing by the rules and it is simply cruel for the House GOP to single them out and prevent them from sharing in this tax relief.”